Heathcliff: The Return to Wuthering Heights

Very very very few authors can (or should) try to reimagine old characters. It's addictive and heady and for that reason we should know it's wrong -- not immoral, mind you, but icky. It's gluttonous. But oh, so easy to gorge ourselves on someone else's work -- so tempting --

Here is another cautionary tale. So, it is another frame story-within-a-story and the voices of two Brontes and an Earnshaw wander through Heathcliff's diary-letter, improbably written within the space of an evening and a mere two miles away from his beloved Catherine -- which alone gives me pause. We're supposed to believe Healthcliff would write a letter rather than do something reckless and dramatic and stupid? Heathcliff? Really? No. No. And he would not write show more this letter. Exposition? Description? Dramatic effect? Oh, no no no! My scorn knows no bounds. This is not my Heathcliff; I shall love mine yet ...

It's obvious the author knows her 19th-century literature: but (take a lesson from WH, why don't you?) -- love does not always do its object justice.

The bits of Charlotte Bronte are so near to her own voice it seemed nearly lascivious -- it was like peeking at Charlotte taking off her clothes. Sure, there are fourteen layers of Victoriana before you get to the skin and nothing much is visible but the curve of her arm and the slight rounding of her shoulders (thinner and more taut than we expected: Oh Charlotte) -- but it's not right. And here I do mean immoral.

And then we have the problem of Emily. The problem is, I can't believe her. Bitchy and harsh and cold to Charlotte: yes: copying her characters so completely from life: No. And I don't believe in her bizarro-world Happily Ever After for H & C (who apparently go to the New World like every other pair of star-crossed lovers and blah de blah blah who the fuck cares because I don't believe a word of it).

Catherine Earnshaw as some 18th-century Emily Dickenson I can strangely credit; those bits (conveniently italicised for the skim-reader) are heady and gaunt. show less

Where Heathcliff was and what he did during his three-year absence from Wuthering Heights, and how he made his fortune. An entertaining "rest-of-the-story" novel. Makes a good companion for its inspiration.

This is a great book! While I normally do not care for sequels written by someone other than the original author, this book is an exception. The skillful blending of elements of both Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights make this a great read. Best if you have already read both Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.

This book surprised me by being so true to Wuthering Heights and Emily Bronte. A great read.

I really liked this book. It was well written and it kept me hooked!!